Getting The Fat Out Of Fatwas: Saudi Cleric Declares Buffets To Be Anti-Islamic

It is a good thing that it is not April 1st because this would an obvious April Fool’s joke. Then again most of the fatwas coming out of Saudi Arabia seem like jokes to most people living in the 21st Century. Saudi cleric Saleh al-Fawzan has issued fatwa against all-you-can-eat buffets in Saudi Arabia — declaring that the popular lunch establishments will now be viewed as unlawful under Sharia law. You might want to get Sharia defense counsel before going to that Smörgåsbord in Jetta.

It appears that many Muslims missed the buffet chapter in the Koran but there must have been a scene of Mohammed walking into an all-you-can-eat tend and being appalled.

Fawzan says that the value and quantity of the food is clearly unIslamic so “Whoever enters the buffet and eats for 10 or 50 riyals without deciding the quantity they will eat is violating Sharia (Islamic) law.”

It is not clear if you have your tongue cut off or you will be simply flogged by undercooked pasta under Sharia justice.

What confuses me is the specific elements of the Sharia offense. If I go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant, but do not eat all that I can, am I still guilty? What if I go to an ordinary restaurant and eat like a pig? (well that would be wrong on a number of levels)

In reality, the latest fatwa might be an effort to control the weight gain following the earlier fatwa against female workout clubs. It could be part of a low-fatwa diet.

The nightmare, of course, for those following the growing list of fatwas would be Salmon Rushie walking into an all-you-can-eat restaurant. It would be fatwa overload.

Source: IBT